When “Star Wars: Attack of the Phantom Menace” was released in 1999, there was a lot of backlash. The Jar Jar Binks character was relentlessly mocked, and remains the most loathed character of the franchise.
And yet: “Phantom” was re-released to theaters this weekend for its 25th anniversary and finished in second place. “Phantom” beat everything including last week’s number 1, the fading “Challengers.”
Maybe Jar Jar Binks deserves an apology.
The number 1 movie this weekend is “The Fall Guy,” which had a surge on Saturday night after a middling opening. Total was $28.5 million, which is three or four million higher than estimated. The Saturday increase by $3 million more than anticipated drove the weekend. The estimate for today is back to normal around $7 million.
“Challengers,” meanwhile, hasn’t really caught on despite having a huge PR push. Also not finding a sweet spot is “Civil War” — and this is despite warnings of a real civil war.
